By Alperen Aktas
ISTANBUL (AA) - Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday that the US wants Malaysia "to stop sending humanitarian aid" to Gaza.
"The Americans think humanitarian aid should not be given to Gaza. It is because it may help Hamas to survive," Mahathir wrote on X.
"The proper thing to do according to the Americans is for bombs and rockets to be supplied to Israel. These can kill Gaza Palestinians who are said to be sheltering Hamas," he added.
About the Malaysian aid, he said: "The pitifully small amounts of money can only buy food and drinks. Weapons are very costly, running into millions of dollars."
The Southeast Asian nation has donated over $4.2 million in aid to Palestinians since Israel launched its war on Oct. 7.
It is besides its annual commitment of $200,000 to the UN refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) from 2021 until next year.
"There may be no Hamas. Only Gaza Palestinian women, children and babies will be killed. It is collateral damage. It’s okay, according to the Americans," Mahathir added."
Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which killed 1,200 people.
More than 35,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 78,700 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.